


Back in Balamb

by medical_mechanica



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Canon Compliant, Enemies to Friends, Frenemies, Gen, M/M, Post-Canon, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:47:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23369470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/medical_mechanica/pseuds/medical_mechanica
Summary: It's been almost six years since the battle with Ultimecia, and Instructor Dincht has finally taken some time off to visit home. When he gets there, he is surprised by Balamb's newest townie. Hopefully his abilities as an instructor keep him from running off the mechanic's newest assistant.
Relationships: Seifer Almasy/Zell Dincht
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Back in Balamb

“Hey Ma!” 

Zell Dincht closed the front door behind him, before dropping his knapsack down to the ground. An expectant face peered into the kitchenette, eyes meeting nothing but a steaming kettle.

“Are you home?” He called out again, just as his mother exuberantly emerged from the living room.

“Zell! I’m so glad you’re back, it’s about time you took some actual time off from work to visit. The whole town has missed you!” With a warm hug, the martial artist greeted his mother and stepped back with an excited bounce.

“Aw, I missed the whole town! And I’m glad I took off when I did too. Quistis is still neck deep in final grading! I’m all done.” What Zell didn’t explain was that his ‘Introduction to Martial Arts’ class was Pass/Fail, but that was beside the point. In the several years after the compression, and subsequent decompression, of time, he and his friends had been plenty busy adjusting the function of SeeD from an acting mercenary force into a purely humanitarian one. Squall, of course, had supervised most of the changes personally, eventually reinstating Quistis as an Instructor. Somewhere down the line, Zell thought he might try his hand at teaching too, having said something among the lines of ‘I just think I can really show those kids how to hit things the right way’ to Commander Leonhart. 

Instructing hand to hand combat had ended up being something Zell could do exceedingly well, all things considered, in spite of a few cadets that had washed in the first year (who admittedly would have quit anyway). Some kids just couldn’t wrap their heads around the ‘art’ that went into martial arts, while others didn’t know how to lose. ‘Hitting things the right way’ turned out to be more complicated than it sounded, but after a while Instructor Dinct never lost a student. It had been nearly five years now, and he had barely enough time to make it home when the Garden wasn’t on the move, or if he wasn’t on a new important project, or heading a side mission for Squall. He had even spent a trimester or two in Trabia helping them rebuild their gym along with Selphie. Whenever he got the chance, he would take the train out of FH, or drop off at Balamb when the Garden was in the area, head straight into town and to go visit his ma.

The woman was already busy straightening his jacket and fussing over his hair. “You sounded so busy in your messages, I was almost worried you wouldn’t make it! And here I went and had a batch of your favorite buns shipped in from a new bakery in Timber!” Shock registered on Zell’s face before his expression melted into one of pure joy as the woman smiled cheekily back at him. Zell was convinced that his mother was an absolute saint. It was still pretty damn difficult to keep a flying Garden in stock on those things, and his mother had gone through all of that effort.

“Ma, you didn’t! You’re the best, you know that?” 

“Oh Zell, don’t flatter me. The mechanic’s assistant had a friend ship them over. He was just dropping them off now, so I offered him a cup of coffee. He’s in the living room!” 

“Oh, well, I’d better thank him then, huh?” Zell bounced again, before making his way into the living room. His jaw dropped.

“Seifer?!”

There, in the early afternoon light, sat the scarred blond casually on a cushion by the window, cup of coffee in hand. Devoid of his long grey coat, he had a mechanic’s jumpsuit wrapped around his waist just under his familiar blue vest. While it wasn’t the red Zell had expected to be seeing at the sight, there was a very uncomfortable and confused pang in his chest. 

It had been years, but neither of them looked terribly different. Maybe Dincht had more ink where he hadn’t before, and just maybe Almasy looked less pretentious stick-up-his-ass than he used to, but either way, neither had not laid eyes on the other since just after the battle with Ultemecia, and that was in the process of waking up in the Lunatic Pandora. The half-hearted wave Zell received from his former enemy looked just as awkward as the strained smile splayed across his face.

“Zell.”

Ma Dincht followed her son into the room, nearly walking headlong into him, as he had frozen in place. He spun around to look at her as if she had let in a Bomb.

“Ma, you can’t tell that me it was _him_ that brought them.”

“Yes! Of course!” She replied. Zell doubledtaked, looking from Seifer before and back to his mother. “I’ll have you know you are being very rude-” The elder Dincht scolded, before the man in question stood.  
  
“Excuse me, Mrs. Dincht, but I should probably be getting back to work.”

“Of course! Thanks for stopping by.” She peered between the two, before huffing. “My boy here is just surprised to see you, is all. He’s crazy about the buns you had ordered from out of town, aren’t you Zell?” Ma Dincht elbowed him then, snapping him out of a stunned daze.

“I, uh, yeah. Thanks. For that,” The SeeD instructor managed, lacking all enthusiasm. 

“Thank you for the cup of coffee,” The disgraced former Knight spoke with absolute sincerity, holding up his now empty mug with his palm gripping the rim. Zell nearly bounced into action, convinced that the man was about to clock him over the head with it.

“You’re always welcome. I’ll take that,” Ma Dincht stepped forward and took the mug from his hand. Shooting her son a look, she exited the room, leaving the two alone.

“What are you doing here, Seifer?” Zell stepped in and whispered harshly, looking as if ready to strangle the man for so much as breathing.  
  
“Drinking coffee and dropping off some bread.” Seifer stated simply, giving him an even look.

“I mean, in Balamb?!” 

“I live here.”

Zell sputtered, “Since when?!” 

“Three years ago.”

“What?!”

It was then his mother walked back in, chiming “Ever since the mechanic’s last assistant quit!” Obviously having eavesdropped, she took to shaking a finger at Zell.

“He’s been working hard at the garage ever since!” After that, she produced a small paper bag and presented it to Seifer. “Here, take this to your boss, it's for you both to share. It’s some of those buns you went so far out of your way to get.” Zell tripletaked, trying not to let the betrayal show too thoroughly, and failed.

“Thanks again, Mrs. Dincht,” Seifer gave Ma Dincht a warm smile before blinking over at her son. “See you around, Zell.” With that, he made his exit. Only after the front door had definitely shut did the martial artist start shaking.

“Ma, you _know_ that Seifer is _that guy_ who used to call me names all of the time back at the orphanage, right?” In the time since the near end of it, Zell had admitted to his mother that he had both forgotten his own adoption and remembered that and his time in the orphanage. They had discussed Matron, and Ellone, and ultimately, both had become closer for it. ”You know, the _same guy_ who was in charge of the Galbadian army during the Lunar Cry?”

“Yes, you used to cry to me all of the time about that ‘Seifer’ being a jerk, but you were children then! You’re adults now!” She pauses, “Wait, did he really command the Galbadian army? During the occupation?” This seemed to be news to the woman, who Zell prayed had realized a shred of truth about Seifer’s character. Then, she shrugged. “That would explain why he’s friends with those two characters.”

Zell let out an exasperated sigh.

“Fujin and Raijin? This can’t be happening. Three years?”

He had been away for too long.

“He’s not a bad guy anymore, Zell. You’ll see.”

“I don’t want to _see_ , ma. I don’t even want to _think_ about him.”

“Then don’t!” She tossed at him, while he just stared blankly back at her. After a long pause, she elbowed him again. “Just wait until you see what we’re having for dinner…” His mother knowingly changed the subject, before walking back out of the room. As if on cue, his stomach growled. The growing tower of questions that wanted to topple on top of him really didn’t seem worth the effort at that moment. He finally had time off and he just got home. Questions could wait.

And so, he decided to not think about him.

-

It turned out to be a successful tactic, up until two days later, when Zell walked into the Junk Shop to the sound of sudden laughter. Behind the counter was the same old man who had run the shop for years, who noticed Zell and quieted down almost immediately. Of course, at the counter stood none other than Seifer, again in a grease stained jumpsuit, this time fresh from work. A well trained eye noted in that instant how Almasy’s arms had grown toned since his time in the Garden, a testament to the work he had been said to be doing. 

“Zell! Good to see you again! Your mother said you were coming by! What can I do for you?”

The martial artist tried not to scowl, instead smiling at the shop owner, all but ignoring the other person in the room.

“Hey! It’s good to be back!” Approaching the counter, he held out his gloves.  
  
“I was hoping you could do something with my Gauntlets, they’re a little worn down.” Accepting the gloves, the old man turned around to put them on a workbench. Zell chanced a look over to Seifer, and unfortunately caught his gaze. 

“Of course I can! I’ll just need to hang onto them overnight.”

Almasy’s brows lifted in question just as the old man turned around, Zell turning right back to look at him.

“Great, thanks so much! Uh,” He thumbs toward the other figure in the room, “Didn’t mean to interrupt.” 

“You weren’t, I was going to head back to work anyway,” Seifer started, stepping toward the door.

“See you later, Almasy!”  
  
“See you later.”

About to walk out of the door, Seifer pauses, looking back to Zell.

“Want to walk, Dincht?”

With an inward huff, Zell nods, saying goodbye to the old man before stepping out after the disgraced former knight-turned mechanic’s assistant.

Outside, it is another beautiful day in Balamb, sky clear as the water out on the horizon. If he didn’t know better, Zell would have assumed Seifer had always lived there. He fit right in with the scenery. One of the locals, fishing down by the docks just like everyone else. The thought chafed, but before he could dwell, the man in question spoke up. “Raijin works out of Timber. He bakes.” This took the martial artist off guard.

Almasy began to stroll, expression inscrutable. Zell, keeping up, was making the effort not to stare at the side of his head. “Hey, good for him. Oh, wait. Did he bake the-?” The connection quickly fell into place as Seifer gave him a nod. Raijin baked his favorite food. It struck him that it was pretty awesome, being that he never entirely hated Raijin, and that he made his favorite food. “What about Fujin?” Zell asked in earnest, passing by his house. They passed progressively by, but he continued on with an increasingly growing fascination of the character beside him.  
“Also Timber. Bar bouncer.”

“Oh,” A nod, “I see it.”

At this, the vaguest hint of a smirk graced Almasy’s lips, the old sort he knew so well, if just for a moment, and it tickled Zell. The mechanic’s shop came into view.

“It took me five years to land here,” Seifer follows up, and it occurs to Zell that his former enemy was catching up with him.

“You, Dincht?”

“Instructor Dincht.”

Almasy’s brows raised, “No shit.”

Instinctively, Zell gained a bounce in his step, about ready to swing a punch.  
“Five years.”

Whatever Seifer was about to say next was lost to the shout coming from the back of the garage.

“Almasy! What’s taking you so long?!”

“Coming, coming.”

They had come up on the garage, and Zell realized they had to part ways, bounce deflating. The conversation had touched some odd part of him, one that he was only used to feeling waking from strange dreams of the orphanage, or when his mind touched upon a piece of faded memory that the GF hadn’t fully erased. Like speaking with Matron, or Ellone. He wondered if Seifer knew the feeling.

The scarred man gave him a look, a knowing, smug look, that normally preceded some snide comment. One that Zell would once say was testing him to make a dumb move. But before Zell could properly react, Seifer only walked away, back to work.

The interaction would sit in his head the entire rest of the night, through dinner, and into bed. Although he had aged since his time living in the coastal town, overall, his room hadn’t changed. Sparse to begin with, most of everything Zell really needed lived in a duffle bag. Staring at the ceiling, he suddenly wished he had taken the time to decorate. Maybe even find his own place, one not in a moving training academy, and really settle down somewhere. Better someone like him be a fixture in town, over someone like Seifer. 

At least, the Seifer he knew. The miserable megalomaniac bully he knew would have scoffed at the idea of manual labor, laughing as the town around him fell to shit. This Seifer was different. Their exchange earlier had been decent, pleasant even, and the martial artist suppressed a deep desire to hold out for a changed man. He wished he could talk to Selphie, or Quistis. Not at that hour, it was too late, not to mention he had no idea where the Garden was at the moment. Something had to be up, and he would find out what. For his Ma, and all of Balamb.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, this is more of a back-burner project I picked up after finishing FFVIII for the second time. I have a lot more downtime now, however, so if you like it, I hope to be posting another chapter sometime soon!


End file.
